Yulu Shequ - a unique rehabilitation program for illicit drug users in Kaiyuan in southwest China

The Yulu Shequ program provides up to one hundred participants at any point in time with the opportunity to live and work in a purpose-built, drug-free community after completing compulsory rehabilitation. The length of stay is not limited. Community members receive medical and psychological treatment and have the option to participate in social activities and highly valued job skills training. The program has very strict policies to prevent illicit drugs entering the community.The evaluation was carried out through 1) a review of literature, official documents and websites in Chinese language describing the program and 2) an on-site visit and conduct of semi-structured interviews with key staff members of the Yulu Shequ program. The relapse rate in 2007 was 60% compared to 96% in the compulsory program. Annual costs to public payers of CNY4800 (US$700) were largely offset by income earned through on-site labour by participants totalling CNY4600 (US$670).The Yulu Shequ program is an interesting model for drug rehabilitation that could lead the way for a new Chinese national policy away from compulsory rehabilitation towards a more collaborative and effective approach. Caution is needed when interpreting relapse rates as Yulu Shequ participants need to have completed compulsory rehabilitation before entering the program. A more comprehensive evaluation of this program would be desirable before implementation in other parts of China or in other countries facing similar problems.The number of drug users in China has rapidly increased as the availability of illicit drugs has become more widespread over the last twenty years. By the end of 2005, over one million people were registered drug users [1] representing just the tip of the iceberg of illicit drug abuse in China with estimates of the actual number of drug users totalling 3.5 million [2]. Injection drug use (IDU) contributes to a large share of fatal diseases including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. About half of all r